Kornacki: Wolverines Eager for Next Chapter
10/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Oct. 5, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It's time to turn the page on a very special chapter in University of Michigan ice hockey history.
The Wolverines came within one victory of reaching the Frozen Four in 2015-16 and won their first Big Ten Tournament championship. However, the top scoring line, top two defenders, starting goalie and two other forwards all have moved on to NHL organizations.
It's time for the next chapter.
Forward Alex Kile is now termed a "go-to player" by Michigan head coach Red Berenson, who added that defenseman Nolan De Jong "has come into his own." Berenson's also leaning to another senior, Zach Nagelvoort, as the starter over two talented freshmen goalies.
The legendary coach, entering his 33rd season at his alma mater, relishes the opportunity to rebuild after losing an unprecedented five underclassmen to NHL organizations.
"I can't remember five in one year, no," said Berenson.
Hobey Baker Award finalist Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets) and Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) were first-round NHL picks, while Tyler Motte (Chicago Blackhawks), JT Compher (Colorado Avalanche) and Michael Downing (Florida Panthers) also signed with teams that drafted them before their college careers began. Steve Racine (Nashville Predators), Cristoval 'Boo' Nieves (New York Rangers) and Justin Selman (St. Louis Blues) were seniors who signed pro contracts.
So, there are plenty of prominent roles to be filled as the Wolverines, still ranked No. 11 nationally in the preseason USCHO poll, open the season Friday and Saturday (Oct. 7-8) at Yost Ice Arena with Union College. Michigan retains nine NHL draft picks on its roster, including freshmen forwards Will Lockwood and Nick Pastujov and goalie Jack LaFontaine.
-- Red Berenson on the upcoming season
"I predicted that Kyle Connor would be an impact player," said Berenson, "and I'm not predicting that any of our incoming freshman players will be impact players. But already I've seen some good glimpses on a couple of them. So, we'll see. What happened last year to Kyle Connor was just about magical how it came together with him and Tyler Motte and JT Compher (on the CCM Line).
"But, nevertheless, the opportunity is there for our returning players. We need them to understand that this is their time and their opportunity. Players like Tony Calderone and Dexter Dancs, who are juniors now, need to embrace this opportunity. Maybe last year they were playing behind some other players. Well, those other players have either graduated or moved on. And the incoming freshmen, same thing, they have opportunities. So, there are opportunities everywhere you look."
Berenson likes his team's blue line possibilities.
"Our defense might be deeper this year than it was last year," said Berenson. "Now, will it be better? That remains to be seen. Zach Werenski gave us an element that I don't know if we have in our lineup this year, and Downing gave us that physical and big-hit factor. But still, with (Griffin) Luce and (Luke) Martin coming in with the good season that (Nicholas) Boka and (Joseph) Cecconi had last year, with (alternate captain Kevin) Lohan coming back, and (Sam) Piazza coming on well last year, and Nolan De Jong having his best season far and away last year, we're going to have tough choices to make when we write out the lineup for defense."
Nagelvoort, an Edmonton Oilers draft pick, had a 2.99 goals-against average and .893 save percentage in 11 games last season.
"Zach Nagelvoort will come in as our most experienced goalie," said Berenson, "and I would tend to think that he's in good position to be our starting goalie. It's early to say, but on paper you have two freshmen (Hayden Lavigne and LaFontaine) and a sophomore (Chad Catt) behind him. This should be a chance for Zach to jump in.
"Overall, the freshmen fit in really, really well. Lavigne (20) is a little older than Jack (18), and he's had a longer junior career and might be a little more ready. But we'll have to wait and see. But Jack LaFontaine is a future goalie -- whether he's a starter here or not right away, we're not going to rush him. But he's a good prospect."
De Jong, 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, had the best plus-minus rating of anyone last season with the exception of the trio on the CCM Line. De Jong's plus-22 stood out along with his 60 blocked shots, which ranked third on the squad.
"Offensively, I'd like to put up more numbers than I had in the past," said De Jong, a Minnesota Wild draft pick from Victoria British Columbia. "I take a lot of pride in that plus-minus category and being solid defensively, and hopefully I'm going to make strides on the power play and contribute more because we lost quite a few goals."
De Jong had 11 assists but zero goals as a junior. Werenski, a prototype defenseman, had 11 goals (seven on power plays) and 35 points.
"Nolan just gets better every year," said Berenson. "He's come into his own, and so he's going to be in our top four and might be in our top two. Then Boka and Cecconi after him, and then it's wide open. How healthy is Lohan? How ready are Luce and Martin? And we have Piazza and Cutler Martin knocking on the door as well. We also can use Cutler up front, as we learned last year."
Berenson noted a "concern" about a lack of experienced depth at center, where Brendan Warren is getting a look because of his size (6-1, 185) and speed, and the offense will be harder to rebuild.
Six of the top seven scorers are gone, and the eighth-leading scorer, sophomore forward Cooper Marody (10 goals, 24 points), is academically ineligible until the Great Lakes Invitational at the end of December.
Berenson said Marody, whom the coach noted as a good student, didn't meet the NCAA requirement for 18 hours in consecutive semesters as a result of missing classes while he had mononucleosis.
"It's not a kid who dropped the ball in school," said Berenson. "That's not the case."
Berenson said Marody, a Philadelphia Flyers draft pick, would "probably be on the top line" to start the season if eligible.
Swedish freshman forward Adam Winborg will have to sit for the first five games, per NCAA ruling, for playing in five games with a junior team past his 21st birthday.
Offense will be tougher to come by than last season, when the CCM Line led the nation in scoring with Connor (36 goals, 71 points) teaming up with Compher (16 goals, 63 points) and Motte (32 goals, 57 points).
Red Berenson
Kile is the top returner on offense with 16 goals and 34 points as a junior.
He might not realize the kind of one-year leap in goals that Motte did, going from nine as a sophomore to 32 as a junior, but is using Motte and Compher as inspiration. Compher had only 12 goals and 24 points as a sophomore before exploding last season.
"Look at how Tyler Motte and JT took off in their junior years," said Kile. "I definitely look at that and use it as motivation. I think I can do that with the players around me. I think I can step up to have the biggest year I've had here."
Only Connor and Motte had a higher percentage of their shots go in the net than the .167 of Kile.
"I think Alex Kile is going to be our go-to player this year," said Berenson. "He is going to have the opportunity to be the guy. He's proven he can score on the power play and five-on-five. He can play in any kind of a game, whether it's physical or speed. He's got the confidence now, and he's got our confidence. Now, we just need to fit the right players with him and see who connects with him."
Leadership also will be central to the roles Kile and De Jong play.
"I'm going to have to have a little more hands-on responsibility," said De Jong. "I worked out really hard in the offseason, and a lot of the freshmen were here. So, they got a chance to see what the work ethic of the upperclassmen is. A lot of the testing we do is challenging.
"You run up a section, across (a section), down (a section) and all the way around the (football) stadium. You have to do it in 15 minutes. I'm fairly strong at that and came in first this year with a new record in 11:46. (They) told me I broke Carl Hagelin's record."
Hagelin was a goal-scoring star for the 2016 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I've always been a player that's been under the radar," said Kile, from Troy, Michigan. "I've chipped away and led by example on the ice but have never been the kind of guy who really talked in the locker room. We had other captains to do that, and so this is going to be a challenge for me, but I'm looking to the challenge, looking for help there from the five seniors, and really excited about the year to see what I'm capable of doing.
"We have 11 freshmen, and that's the biggest freshman class since I've been here. We're still trying to figure out our identity and what kind of team we're going to be. We won't be as offensive as we were last year, losing what we did, one of the best lines in the history of college hockey, so we're going to have to be more of a defensive-minded team and win those close games. There's a window of opportunity for a lot of guys to step up and earn roles."
De Jong added, "We had a special year last year with some special guys, but we're looking forward to moving on from that and stepping up. Everybody's excited about the opportunity here."
